UV system sanitation - Anyone with experience?

To simplify my life, I am considering a UV sanitation system for my 21 000 Gal 18’x36’ gunite pool currently using Cl sanitation. My interest in UV sanitation of pool water is based on a few years of trouble free experience of a friend of mine with UV sanitation in his 10 000 Gal IG pool; he just adds one puck to his skimmer once a week.

Specifically, I am considering a SpectraLight Ultraviolet system; see SpectraLight Models | SpectraLight UV

I would be grateful to hear about an experience of anyone using a UV sanitation system in his/her pool.
 
UV isn't an alternative to chlorine. You still need the chlorine at exactly the same level. UV is a supplemental system that handles a couple of tougher pathogens that are pretty unlikely in residential pools.
 
If lower your FC because "now the UV is sanitizing", you won't have a FC level adequate to kill algae. UV is helpful to remove CC in indoor pools, but for an outdoor pool, the sun is already doing that. Unless you have high bather load spikes that need help in immediately oxidizing waste (which, only happens if the pump is running the whole time) then the UV doesn't do much.

You can certainly "add a puck" and use a UV system, but how much chlorine is in the pool, being added by the pucks, is dependent on your pump run time, so you'd need to test often to find that sweet spot where enough puck was being dissolved to stay ahead contaminants but not so fast as to be wasting chlorine. Plus your CYA would rise so it might be a moving target. However, CYA can naturally drift down too, so there is a potential to keep the CYA right in the same spot over time. But you'd only know by, again, testing often. And if you're trying to make life easier, that doesn't seem easier.

If you really just want to put in a "system" that runs on its own with minimal understanding of what chemical are in your pool at what levels, then ya go for it. It's quite possible that the pool will be sanitized and you'll never have algae. But you'd just be hoping and guessing. I spend 10 minutes a week testing the water and 2 minutes each night adding chemicals. I don't think it can be much easier. I could do pucks and systems to work on the pool less frequently, but not at the expense of potentially dealing with algae outbreak/shock/cloudiness/burning eyes/scaling and other mystery issues.

I had a CLear O3 oxidizer installed with my pool build, only to learn, eventually, that it does nothing but chew up my FC faster. Sunk cost.
 
Thank you all for the three replies above.

SWG is certainly on my radar but I am really curious about anybody's direct experience with UV sanitation of a residential pool because of a very good experience of my friend with UV sanitation mentioned above in my post - I'd like an independent verification by experience. Thank you in anticipation.
 
Search for the thread called something like: alternative sanitizers, the truth

And then come back and ask questions if that does not answer them.

TFP does not recommend uv or ozone systems in outdoor private pools as they have no value added benefit.
 
You are interested in UV sanitation because of your friend's experience with UV and not having algae or other problems. Commercial pools almost all use uv or ozone systems in addition to chemical dosing pumps for accurate administration of Chlorine. Many on here use chemical dosing pumps ( I do a Steiner pump) like commercial pools but don't use ozone or uv.

I doubt you will get many folks on here telling you how great their ozone or uv systems are. Why?

Because they don't really know. They can't tell any difference between using the uv or ozone or not using it.

With both ozone and uv you must --- make that MUST -- keep the sanitizer at a the level necessary to sanitize the pool. You cannot reduce it below the level necessary to keep the pool sanitized. That level in a residential pool is the same with or without ozone or uv. Why-- because uv and ozone are oxidizers not sanitizers. They break down the organic compounds that are present in the pool -- fecal matter and rotting leaves. They also break up combined chloramines -- the by product of chlorine oxidation that generates the "chlorine" smell in pools.

Most on here don't think ozone or uv is bad. But it is generally an unnecessary complication in normally used outdoor residential pools. If you have giant pool parties on a regular basins with bunches of kids -- then you need ozone or uv -- and you might think of a weekly water replacement program also. But almost no residential pools are used that way.

There are systems of sanitation that either use no chlorine (Baquacil) or reduced chlorine (Nature 2). But no system of pool sanitation replaces chlorine with ozone or uv. Its a false premise.
 
Thank you Jason and gwegan for your input; I have read the suggested thread. This info seems to imply that the following claim taken from a SpectraLightUV brochure is a false advertising. Any comment?

SpectraLight treatment:
- residual chlorine 0.5 ppm
- chlorine shock every 2-3 months
- stabilizer 3-8 ppm
- pH up/down adjustments rarely needed
- algaecide never
 
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Thank you Jason and gwegan for your input; I have read the suggested thread. This info seems to imply that the following claim taken from a SpectraLightUV brochure is a false advertising. Any comment?

SpectraLight treatment:
- residual chlorine 0.5 ppm
- chlorine shock every 2-3 months
- stabilizer 3-8 ppm
- pH up/down adjustments rarely needed
- algaecide never
as to these claim being false advertising I will leave to Chem Geek as he is the expert in that area but I will say that following TFP guidelines

FC is going to be higher than .5
We never recommend shocking our pools
You can't test Stabilizer to the level of 3-8ppm
I see no way UV is going to change your pH in the pool
We seldom advocate the use of algecide

UV systems just like the UV from the sun consume chlorine. So if you are running extremely low chlorine levels with low stabilizer levels on a sunny day the chlorine will be gone in less than an hour, two tops. As the floor/walls can't flow through the UV chamber (it's a light) do you think algae is going to begin to grow with no chlorine?
 
you could theoretically have a tab dissolve at just the right rate to keep .5 FC in the pool at all times. Good luck getting that to work though. And after 3 or 4 tabs you'll be above "8ppm" anyway. As said above, the CYA test has a testing/reading error of 10ppm anyway.

if the algae is stuck to your steps, or walls, or skimmer door, it will never get treated by UV. Only particles loose in the water, that go through the chamber, have a shot at being neutralized. See if they will give you a money back guarantee if you keep you pool to those exact specs for three months and still get algae.
 

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they have some youtube videos

"
UV Pool Systems will reduce the chemicals required to maintain your pool, spa, or water feature by up to 90%. SpectraLight UV is a whole new breed of ECO smart pool equipment, and is fully compatible with all pool equipment"
The Ultimate Pool, Spa, or Water Feature UV system available - YouTube

This is a green pool clean up in just over 48 hours using a Spectra Light UV sterilizer and NO POOL CHEMICALS! UV sterilizers work by water passing by a lethal dose of UV-C light, destroying the DNA chain of 99.5% of pathogens, viruses, algae, and chloramines. Chloramines are chlorine by-products that produce eye and skin irritations, along with many other health problems. The UV sterilizer must be a very specific model based on gallons per minute so that the unit can achieve a 60,000 micro-watt dosage of killing power
 
Jaro,
I have a question to ask you.

Do you have any personal, business or financial ties or interest with Spectralite or any other associated spectralite company or any other UV product manufactrer or seller or associated company?
 
Jaro,
Neither Jason nor gwegan provided any specific link for you to read on the subject. However state you read those threads.
I would like you post a link to the threads to which you refer, that may be inferring that a SpectraLightUV brochure is making a false claim?


Thank you Jason and gwegan for your input; I have read the suggested thread. This info seems to imply that the following claim taken from a SpectraLightUV brochure is a false advertising. Any comment?

SpectraLight treatment:
- residual chlorine 0.5 ppm
- chlorine shock every 2-3 months
- stabilizer 3-8 ppm
- pH up/down adjustments rarely needed
- algaecide never
 
Dave, jbizzle referenced it here. I think the op is saying the info in the thread would disagree with some brouchure for spectralight he either has in paper form or saw somewhere online.

Search for the thread called something like: alternative sanitizers, the truth

And then come back and ask questions if that does not answer them.

TFP does not recommend uv or ozone systems in outdoor private pools as they have no value added benefit.

Alternative sanitizers and pools--The Truth!!
 
Thank you Jason and gwegan for your input; I have read the suggested thread. This info seems to imply that the following claim taken from a SpectraLightUV brochure is a false advertising. Any comment?

SpectraLight treatment:
- residual chlorine 0.5 ppm
- chlorine shock every 2-3 months
- stabilizer 3-8 ppm
- pH up/down adjustments rarely needed
- algaecide never

It's 100% balogna. It's not even possible to measure stabilizer at 3-8ppm, UV has no impact on pH and it is a violation of federal law for them to advertise their product as reducing required chlorine levels without an EPA pesticide registration number.
 
On the topic of false advertising, a lot of half truths and statements that are true from a certain point of view can be used before you get to the point of false advertising.

For example many of these UV systems claim a reduction in chlorine use (I don't know if this is claimed by this specific brand), and that statement can be true from a certain point of view, in particular having a UV system while you are actively dealing with an algae infestation may require less chlorine to clear the problem than if you had no UV system. It is also true that UV systems consume chlorine. So if you have a properly balanced pool with no algae growing in it, the UV system will cause an increase in the amount of chlorine needed for the pool. So from a certain point of view the advertising statement is true, but personally I would rather have a pool with no algae growing in it to begin with, which is one of the prime goals of the method we teach here, which again makes having a UV system for a typical outdoor residential pool pointless.
 
Thank you all for your comments. Unfortunately, none based on direct experience with a UV sanitation system in a residential pool.
Clarification
1. I have no personal connection to or business ties in any UV pool sanitation system.
2. The intent of my original post was to get an independent verification of a very good experience of a friend of mine with a UV system in his 10000 Gal IG pool (in Europe) before getting one for my pool (aimed at minimizing pool maintenance).
3. An excerpt from SpectraLightUV brochure posted above in #8 is from page 5 of a brochure entitled 'Reinvent Your Pool'; web link http://www.spectralightuv.com/media/ultraviolet-uv-pool-spectralight.pdf
My conclusion in light of comments received and previous TFP discussions on UV pool sanitation systems was that the info on SpectraLight treatment was incorrect but its characterization as 'false advertising' was perhaps erroneous (I am not a lawyer).

There must be some present or past users of UV pool sanitation systems in US and Canada. I'd love to hear from them on their experience - good or bad.
 

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